Lady Antebellum - Hello World

Here We Go.....

Update - Steelers are the 2010 AFC Champs and are on their way to Dallas, TX for the Super Bowl. I wish them the very best and that they will do the same for their fans, their very best.

Go Steelers!!!!! Bring home number 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wave those terrible towels high once again - let's see a stadium full of yellow Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6th. To quote Berry Benson from "Bee Movie" - " Black and Yellow, Hello!"

Let Me Be the One

Let Me Be the One

In a small upper room,

Full of laughter and of joy,

Gathered around a most bountiful table,

A miraculous moment was about to take place,

A man of humble birth,

Would soon pour out His Saving Grace,

A thought ran through another young man’s head,

Unaware that his Lord would soon be dead,

He had no knowledge that this work would soon be done,

All he could think, was, “Lord, let me be the one.”

Let me be the one to sit next to you,

Let me be the one to recline on your shoulder,

Let me be the one with the follow through,

Though I am not the older,

Let me be the one that you say “Son, here is your mother,”

Let me be the one, Jesus, with an effervescent spark,

Let me be the one that you say, “Mother, here is your son.”

Let me love God and love people,

For that’s the center of the mark,

Let me be the one who stands with you,

Let me be the one whom Peter questions,

Let me be the one, at the foot of the cross,

Let me be the one whose hope is never lost,

Let me be the one, Spirit filled for revelation,

Let me be the one, which does not aggrandize on sensation,

Let me be the one, who falls as though dead,

Let me be the one, that of him is said,

“If I want Him around until my return, what is that to you.”

Let me be the one whose faith is renewed,

Let me be the one of whom you look upon,

Let me be, Jesus, your beloved son.

Let me share with each passing breath,

Your life,

Your love,

Your death,

Your New Wine Resurrection,

Your eternal Restoration,

Let me be the one, Jesus,

In whom is established,

The Agape Love,

Of the God head.

So that on this day, I can say,

Jesus,

He’s Alive,

He is not dead,

His love is for you,

His love is for me,

I am His disciple,

The one He so loved,

But I am not alone,

For you, also, are on His mind and in His heart,

As He stands up His throne,

Look not at this world’s treasures,

But cast your eyes upon the One,

Whose goodness you cannot measure,

And call to Him,

Let me be the one, Jesus,

Let me be your beloved son,

Your beloved daughter,

Let me be the one,

To cry, “Abba Father,” in your throne room of grace,

Let me be the one to be knee to knee,

And, face to glorified face,

Let me be the one, Jesus,

That all will know you,

And on that day in glory,

You will know them too.

LET ME BE THE ONE.

Soon his thoughts brought him safely back,

To this magnificent display of Love inescapable,

Gathered with his brother’s around their Master’s table,

Sleepy from the new wine,

Blood divine,

Restfully near the Messiah’s place,

Unabashed, spiritually filled,

With the never ending flow of His saving Grace,

A last look into the Rabbi’s eyes,

Not to have his faith undone,

He heard deep down,

“John, my beloved, you are the one.”

Written by Marlena H. Johnston ©2011

Here We Go.....

Hello all, just wanted to pop in and wish my favorite NFL team the best in the big AFC Championship game on Sunday. "Here we go, Steelers, here we go, Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl." So everyone grab those Terrible Towels and Wave Em' in the Air, spur those Steelers on to Number 7!

His Perfect Design

His Perfect Design

She sat tired, weary and alone,

With tear stained eyes and a silenced telephone,

She couldn’t believe her ears,

That last call had confirmed all her faults and her fears,

With each word another crack and a break,

How much more of this pain could this daughter, this little girl, take?

Hurt by hurt, Piece by piece, she swept and she gathered,

Tired, weary, torn and tattered,

She wept as she swept, and swept as she wept,

What would she do with this heart, beat-less, battered, bruised and shattered,

Soon to be emptied, lifeless and void,

She searched for an app on her Verizon android,

No app could help, one so exhausted and confused,

“What if I just dumped it all,” she mused,

At that moment, the cell began to vibrate,

“Humph?” she murmured in a very irritated state,

She clicked view,

Still unsure of just what she should do,

“Come to me” read this very short text,

“Come to me” who sent this, what will be next?

Again, it began to hum,

Her mind, body, soul, and spirit, no longer numb,

She tingled and shook with fear and excitement,

She clicked view,

“Come to me, my daughter, I love you.”

Still not knowing just who it was at the other end,

Surely she thought, it must be a friend,

She searched out Facebook, Twitter and My Space,

And as she suspected, she knew neither a name nor a face,

In the contact information, the address and phone,

All she could find, was Jesus for name and Heaven for Home,

However, the subject line read “Cross,” and the text read “Salvation,”

A message that was sent without hesitation,

At once she knelt down with all pieces gathered,

She envisioned the One Truth that mattered,

He sat tall, He sat straight, with strength and with care,

She knelt down, with head held low, shameful and bare,

He lifted her chin,

And with eyes so wide, He began to grin,

“Daughter,” he said, “What do you have in your most tender hands?”

“My heart,” she said “Sir, do with it what you can?”

He grabbed each piece with distinction and with gentle touch,

She thought to herself, “Oh this guy’s too much,”

He knew her thoughts and He laughed to himself and, He said, to her chagrin,

“Do you not know who I AM child, I AM the Master Craftsman.”

At once she fell back; they thought she was dead,

“She is not dead, she only sleeps,” with calming voice in reassuring tone these words were said.

He took each piece and one by one placed them within her fragile frame,

Like an engineer or artist, He constructed each piece and each part,

And as if it were magic, Miraculously, He had recreated her heart,

Making the old new, this Master Weaver, new exactly what to do,

For He had made the one that she had,

He was devastated when it had gone bad,

When it was broken, battered and beaten,

He knew that she needed this “Come to Jesus Meetin’,”

He whispered so softly to this “Sleeping Beauty” lying at His feet,

“My child, wake up, there is someone that you need to meet,”

“My name is Jesus, your Savior and Friend,”

“My Lord, my Lord, my heart you did mend,”

So happy and joyous, so filled with His Spirit,

This fountain of Life welled up, her mortal body couldn’t contain it,

Her eternal soul and spirit, through divine intervention, let out their light and poured out the water,

Through those windows, called eyes, of this unsuspecting daughter,

He collected each one, as if in a bottle, which poured into the beautiful river rippling and flowing,

She wondered if, now, she should be going,

“No,” she thought, “I must repay Him with kindness and care,”

As she joyously cried, she let down her hair,

With gentle hand and humble, newly created, heart, she smiled, caressing His feet,

She washed and she dried, with focus and faith, with renewed spirit and mind,

She truly loved this man, who had been so gracious and kind,

Letting go of life, self and pride, she knelt even lower, at once laying down,

That Tierra of gold, that once given crown,

With joy and with compassion, He received her most priceless gift,

With tenderness and with love, her head he did lift,

“My child, my daughter, no greater gift could you have given your Father,”

“I thank you for coming my Way,” with heartfelt good-bye, He bid her His command,

“Love often, Love well, Love every man,”

With this she smiled, most beloved and rejoicing at her newness of function,

“Recalculating route,” her cell began to speak, “Make a right at the next junction,”

She was walking and walking when she came to a sign,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and I will give you rest that transcends time,”

It was in front of a building, with double doors and with steeple,

She went inside and their among the people,

Was this man, Her friend, Jesus, Her Lord,

He was, now, the only man whom she adored,

She knew she was in the right place, her heart leapt inside her,

For her heart knew, her friend and her Master,

For a creation always knows the touch of the Creator,

As it bends to His hand and bows to His voice,

In harmonious rhythm it begins to rejoice,

It leaps and it dances,

To the song in His smile which soothes and romances,

This tale must now come to an end,

But her story goes on in His larger plan,

Just as it does for you and for me,

Each thread He spins together, ever shaping the fabric of each beautiful life,

Ensuring the day when the groomsman embrace’s His wife,

Threads of grace, of love and of time,

He weaves and He weaves,

Till the day when all becomes clear and we witness His perfect design.

Written by Marlena H. Johnston, © 2011

Please don’t toss out such a fragile creation, pick up the pieces and lay them at His feet, allow Him to recreate for you a new heart, that will not only beat, but that will leap and will dance, to the Creator’s sweet and soothing song of true romance. In honor of Valentine’s Day, please consider the broken hearted for that was where Jesus started. Happy Valentine’s Day! God Bless!

New Poem Coming Soon...

That's write folks, you heard it hear first, there is a new poem to be posted soon. The Lord spoke and I listened, putting fingers to the key board. The new poem, titled, His Perfect Design, came straight from Him and I pray that it will bless you. Keep your peepers peeled for it to arrive in the next couple of days....

God Bless Ya'll and know that I am praying for you... :)

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

I had originally posted this on another page Bruce Marchiano and New Jesus Movie on Facebook, in response to a beautiful photo of SA children, orphaned, and living with AIDS. Marchiano Ministries has adopted the village within which these children live. They were smiling, how beautiful is the smile and love of a child. The Bible states that "a little child shall lead them," and I believe that this is not just a futuristic event but also a current event. In this post, I want to honor all children, young and old alike, from infant to elderly. For in our Father's eyes, we will always and forever be, still His babies. The posting is below and FYI, if you desire to contribute to these wonderful children please check out the page Christmas Shoes as well as the two already mentioned pages. May His love embrace you, may His mercy overtake you and may His joy elate you and may His strength uphold you as His rest cradles you.

I just watched the film on television today, Annie, also Broadway musical and comic strip about a little red haired orphaned girl who gets a fairy tale father, Daddy Warbucks. The whole time watching it I kept thinking that we are and were all orphans who were adopted into the family of Christ. God, our Father, Abba, is our "Daddy Warbucks," he has welcomed us and loved us and expects us to do the same. We were all lost, starving, naked, and ashamed and in a weekend, he took it all away and gave us our smiles. I am so blessed to see the smiles on these children's faces and long for the day when we are able to celebrate with our Daddy and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ just as they did at the end of Annie. Let's all help our Daddy out in his adoption of so many more, His heart is big and His house is large and His arms are open. Praise Jesus! Let's help make sure everyone is fully dressed because "You're never fully dressed without a smile," and just as sure as His joy comes in the morning, "The sun will come out tomorrow." Glory!

Off to Bed

Off to bed, to lay down this weary head. Sleep per chance to

dream and awaken to the rising sun's first beam. Ready to

embrace this new dawn, and rejoice in the day the Lord has

made, with glad heart and post slumber yawn. "Awake all

creation, awake nimble deer and gentle fawn. Pant for the

water

from His ever flowing stream, let it trickle down and from it

gleam."

Written by Marlena H. Johnston, copyright 2011

Resolution

Resolution

As another year comes to a swift end

I can’t help but wonder

How the next one will fend

Will it flex and maneuver

bow to my will

Or will I again be disappointed by my own selfish fill

Have I learned nothing from those that have past?

Am I doomed to repeat them?

Or can I move forward without recast

How can one’s life feel so incomplete?

What should be seen as success looks more like defeat

Every right move feels more like a wrong turn

How do you follow the flame without being burned?

At last, I just close my eyes and let go of the wheel

I stop pretending I’m in control

And I start getting real

My Father’s hand will guide me

His light will lead the way

My life is far from over

As we near this New Year’s Day

I can look forward with excite

To a year paved with certainty and purpose divinely driven

It will be a time of His Precious Light

His Glory will out shine with all that He has given

Hope’s gentle glow will shine as a halo of Light

It warms as it comforts

Enlightening the darkness enveloping this harsh winter’s night

Worry not about the future

Regret not the past

Embrace the present

For it will not last

Let go of your struggles

Let fly your strife

Hold on to His Promises

For His Prayer is Your Life

It is time to step into the Shadow of His Wing

Let Go, Let God

Let the New Year Ring

Written with anticipation of 2009 by Marlena H. Johnston

Happy New Year 2011!

Wow, who would have thought that we would all be typing and writing, 2011? It is kind of funny, but do you know, when I was little I thought that by now we would all be like the Jetsons. We would be living in sky houses, driving flying cars, having dogs named Astro and robot maids named Rosie. However, as I am sure you very well know, that did not happen. Here we sit, grounded. It sure would have been fun - yet, how fun is in the eye of the beholder, I do have an heights issue, lol. Just think, though, when Christ returns for His church, we won't need flying cars or sky houses because we will be using heavenly transportation and moving into heavenly homes, far beyond earth and sky. I have a friend who always used to ask me what the "Rapture" was and why God needed to deliver us heavenward when he was just going to place us back on earth again and set up His kingdom. I would explain to her that Christ never sets foot on earth during the rapture, He simply lifts us up to meet Him in the air and when He actually comes back the second time, His second coming will be the time when He sets His foot down upon the mount of Olives and establishes the peaceable kingdom, and " a little child shall lead them." I would tell her that He is basically giving us a long vacation while He remodels our home and when we come back from vacation we will have the most awesome time ruling with Him. We can't even wrap our minds around what eternity with Him will be like but it will be awesome and I don't feel we will even have a concept of time because we will be eternal in Christ as He is eternal in the Father.

What a time that will be, what an eternity that will be. Until then we are here to open hearts to His love and His mercy, and His goodness and above all else, His grace. For His grace gives the Hope that does not disappoint, His love that does not alienate or isolate, His mercy that overtakes and His Spirit that leads and directs and His presence that surrounds.

So family and friends, with the new year comes new hope. Stand strong on His shoulders and be raised up to more than you could be. For in Christ we live and move and have our being. It is time to stop existing and to start living - reach up, fill up, reach out and pour out and then recycle. :) God Bless and may you have the most awesome and abundant year in Christ that you have ever had.

Please stop by the Marchiano Ministries websites and Facebook pages, click the links on this blog to see what is new. He loves you and so do I. Praise Jesus!